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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Podcasts and Being Mean

With all the driving that
I’ve been doing (and using Spotify at the same time), I’ve decided to finally
come around to podcasts.

Yes, it’s 2014 and I’m finally coming around to podcasts.

I have a really horrible
attention span… huge focus issues. Talking
does not keep my attention! Even if
you’re looking at me in the eye and speaking DIRECTLY at me, chances are I’m
practicing dance moves in my head or wondering what I’m going to watch on Food
Network later on. (The answer is
probably Chopped.)

But, I got bored listening to
my Spotify playlists. In the two-ish
hours that I’m in the car every single day, it gets kind of old listening to
The Supremes sing “Can’t Hurry Love” that many times. I figured, I should make the time worthwhile
and learn something. And by learn
something, I mean listen to my favorite comedians talk about their comedy
stories. Not like… math or
something. I don’t want to listen to
math podcasts. DO NOT SEND ME MATH
PODCASTS.

I started with Dick van
Dyke’s WTF (with Marc Maron) because, well, I’m me. I’m a 27 year old who’s in love with an 88
year old man who was way before my time.
But who didn’t grow up with him?
Who didn’t watch The Dick van Dyke
Show on Nick-at-Nite? Who didn’t
watch Mary Poppins as a kid? I read his book a couple of years ago and I
just fell head over heels for his charm and his career. I cried at the end of it because I was just
enamored with him and how gracious he was for all the opportunities he was
given in life. And when Marc ended the
podcast, he was in total disbelief that he got to experience that. He literally said, “That happened.” And I cried.
(And then I Google’d how to send Dick van Dyke fan mail and found his
address and found out it was 30 minutes from my work and freaked out.)

And then I listened to Amy
Poehler’s WTF. She said something great
that really spoke to me. She was
talking about how people didn’t like how mean other characters were to Leslie
Knope on Parks and Recreation, and
she said nobody realized that was the case because “nobody wants to be mean to
anyone, they just want to be funny.”

Whoa. THAT’S RIGHT!
I think of all the times I would get frustrated or annoyed with people
for throwing me under the bus in scenes (or, in life when people make jokes at
other people’s expense.) I still do
think they’re cheap jokes at times, when people are real desperate for laughs.
But, at the heart of it, they’re not TRYING to be a douche; they’re just
trying to be funny. That’s their only
goal. They’re not looking to hurt you
and they’re certainly not out to get you – they’re just trying to be
funny! That doesn’t make it any better,
sometimes, but I guess it’s a nice little reminder to shake things off and take
mean jokes a lot less personal.

So, there you have it folks –
my goal to make my driving time a little bit more productive was
accomplished. I learned something during
my drive! I learned that all those times the audience begged me to get off the stage, they were just trying to get laughs.

Just kidding. That never happened. At least, oh God, did it? Were those jeers towards me? I have to go re-evaluate my life.